In Chilean mine, the 'happy ending' begins

AMERICANS SAT transfixed by their television sets last night - glued to images from a dark and isolated place on the other side of the planet and hoping for that rarest of payoffs in these troubled times: a happy ending.

Horns blared at precisely 11:11 p.m. Eastern time as Florencio Avalos, 31, a shy, married father of two, who was the main videographer of the trapped Chilean miners, emerged from the red, white and blue rescue capsule and embraced his wife and son - signaling the beginning of the end of the long drama at the San Jose Mine.

A healthy-looking Avalos - wearing a hard-hat and goggles to protect his eyes after more than two months underground - gave a thumbs-up sign while rescue workers chanted "Chi! Chi! Chi! Le! Le! Le!" and other family members at Camp Hope shed tears, reflecting the relief and the deep national pride in the operation.

Almost exactly an hour later,Mario Sepulveda Espina, 40, became the second miner to emerge from underground.

The amazing survival of 33 gold and copper miners trapped more than 2,000 feet under the earth for the past 69 days had captivated viewers all over the world.

The first rescue worker climbed into the narrow, 13-foot-tall, red-white-and-blue capsule known as "The Phoenix II" about 10:20 p.m. to begin the laborious task of finally pulling the men out.

It could take as long as two days for the entire rescue process - with the long journey to the surface expected to take about an hour for each miner.

But the slow-moving process did little to dampen what was clearly a celebratory mood in Chile. In the closest town of Copiapo, where TV cameras showed thousands crowding the streets, cheers and car horns erupted at news that the rescue capsule had been lowered for testing at about 8 p.m.

The president of Chile, Sebastian Pinera - who has been a dynamic presence throughout the miners' ordeal - and the relatives of the workers, who've mostly lived for the last two months at the base named Camp Hope, were on hand to watch the operation.

"We made a promise to never surrender, and we kept it," Pinera said as he waited to greet the miners, whose endurance and unity captivated the world as Chile meticulously prepared their rescue.